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Indonesia fires burn 1.9 million hectares as haze spreads
BBC News·
Wildfires have burned about 1.9 million hectares across Indonesia since January, according to satellite data cited from Palangkaraya. Toxic haze has reached Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. Indonesia's Health Ministry recorded more than 277,000 cough and respiratory cases by mid-October, including over 62,000 children under five. Residents described infants hospitalised and daily life disrupted by smoke.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Official advice to stay indoors clashes with needs to buy food and school supplies.
- Children and pregnant women face higher risk from microparticles in peat smoke.
- Farmers and daily wage earners must choose between income and exposure outdoors.
What's Happening
- Nusantara Atlas data put burned area near the size of New Jersey.
- About 1 million hectares burned in September alone per the report.
- Palangkaraya health officials described skies turning yellow from pollutants.
Health toll in Kalimantan
- Health Ministry figures cited 277,000 respiratory cases by mid-October.
- Over 62,000 affected patients were infants and toddlers under five.
- Peat fires release carbon monoxide and microparticles deep into lungs.
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